EXISTENTIALISM AND HERMENEUTICS

철학의 핵심이 되는 물음은 '인간이란 무엇인가?'하는 것에 집중된다. 실존철학은 인간의 존재방식과 표현방식을 가장 집중적으로 탐구한 철학사조이다. 실존철학자들은 부정적인 것에서 가장 긍정적인 것들을 찾으며 절망적인 상황 속에서 가장 희망적인 것들을 바라보려고 노력한다. 더 나아가서 한계상황 속에서 살아가는 인간들의 삶에서 스스로의 결단하는 삶을 통하여 가장 자유롭고 가장 역동적인 자기 실현의 계기를 찾아낸다. 한편, 슐라이어마허 이래 해석학은 올바른 텍스트의 이해의 방법론이었다. 그러나 하이덱거와 가다머는 이해를 인간의 근본적인 존재방식으로 규정함으로써 존재의 자기이해의 학문으로 규정한다. 그러나 하버마스는 해석학을 가장 올바른 자기이해와 이를 통하여 자기와 사회를 해방시킬 수 있는 학문으로 규정하고 자기비판과 자기반성의 학으로서 정립한다.

The objective of this course is to provide students with a systematic understanding of existentialism as a philosophical response to the optimism and universalism of Enlightenment thought. By tracing the transition from the confidence in reason, progress, and historical meaning found in Kant and Hegel to the existential focus on individuality, finitude, freedom, and anxiety, the course aims to clarify why existentialism emerged and what problems it addresses. Students will critically engage with key existential thinkers, including Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers, and the French existentialists, in order to examine how each confronts the breakdown of metaphysical certainty and moral guarantees. The course emphasizes how existential philosophy redefines meaning, responsibility, and authenticity under conditions of uncertainty, suffering, and contingency. Through close reading and conceptual analysis, students will develop the ability to distinguish systematic philosophies of meaning from existential approaches that privilege lived experience. The course seeks to cultivate philosophical rigor, historical awareness, and reflective judgment, enabling students to assess existential claims about freedom, nihilism, and self-creation in relation to contemporary

The class will be taught in English. Help with English (Koren translations, and summaries) will be offered. General Rules of Keimyung University apply.

The class will be taught in English. Help with English (Koren translations, and summaries) will be offered. General Rules of Keimyung University apply.

This course equips students with intellectual tools to confront questions of freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and meaning in situations where clear norms and guarantees are absent. By studying existentialism students learn to critically assess modern assumptions about success, identity, and fulfillment. The course develops skills in reflective judgment, ethical decision-making, and self-understanding that are applicable across disciplines such as psychology, education, leadership, social work, and the arts. It also supports personal development by helping students articulate values and life orientations in the face of uncertainty, failure, and finitude. Rather than offering ready-made answers, the course trains students to think clearly, responsibly, and honestly about human existence in a our modern world.